


reddening snow - d.m.

by layschipsyum



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:15:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27767368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/layschipsyum/pseuds/layschipsyum
Summary: "Draco,""I don't want to hear it.""Draco, look. It's snowing."After the war, families reach out to the Ministry and all around them, talking about who they have lost. Before the war, after, people are coming together through the dead. One family the Wizarding world expected to be the first to talk, was actually the one to be silent. The Diggorys' never talked, no matter what. They had been bribed, thousands of galleons for them to say one thing about their son's death that started the war, yet nothing was said.Anne Diggory, Cedric's sister, was angry. Angry at how the Ministry was treating her family, angry how everything was unfolded. Families were constantly mourning the dead, talking about it, but doing nothing. The people talking were the Ministry's toys, constantly being put in the spotlight and sucking up all the fame they were getting, not thinking about how the Ministry was using them to pretend to feel bad, not actually honoring the people the sacrificed their lives.They were doing nothing.Anne was going to do something.~actions speak louder than words~
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. t h e  n i g h t m a r e

_"Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back, I couldn't leave him," Harry cried, tears running down his face. His hair was matted with blood, and the once clean uniform he was wearing was covered with dirt. Cedric, who was laying on the grass, was sickly pale and staring up into the sky, yet not particularly staring at anything. "Not there!"_

_"Cedric!" Anne screeched, running over to tear Harry's body of of his, looking into his lifeless form. It was terrifying, seeing him in such a state. She couldn't bare to think about who killed him, how Harry was feeling, she was solely focused on Cedric, her now late brother._

_"MAKE WAY! THAT'S MY SON! THAT'S MY BOY!" she heard her dad yell, he was crying too now. He picked up Cedric's limp body, clutching him close to his chest, not ready to let go. Anne had tears running down her face as she pulled her mother in for a big hug, letting her mother's tears soak her shirt. Anne herself was now covered in blood and dirt, and the water the was running from her eyes wasn't helping._

_"Cedric, bring him back! Bring Cedric back!" she cried into her mother's arms, slowly falling down beside Cedric and her father, who was still holding him. "He PROMISED mum! He PROMISED me he wouldn't get hurt! He can't be dead! He's not! NO!" she yelled, tearing herself away from her mother, looking back at Cedric. As much as Anne didn't want to admit it, convince herself this was all a prank, Cedric was dead. The crowd had now gathered around the family and Harry, who was trying to run back to them but was being taken by Mad-Eye Moody. She heard Cho's wails, people whispering, and Dumbledore quietly discussing with the rest of the teachers. A fiery wave of anger rushed through her as she stood up and looked at Dumbledore, who gave her a teary eyed look of pity. "DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!" she yelled. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT! ALL OF IT! YOU LET THIS HAPPEN! IF IT WASN'T SAFE BEFORE WHY WOULD IT BE SAFE NOW!" she yelled at Dumbledore, who seemed very calm in the situation. Soon enough she felt herself being taken away by her father, who had let her mother have turn crying over Cedric. "STOP!"_

Anne awoke in a puddle of sweat, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. She rushed up to the closet before getting a yellow sweater and gently pulling it over her before sitting in the corner of the room and crying. She heard shuffling around the room and quickly put a hand over her mouth, not wanting anyone to hear the wails she so desperately wanted to let out. She wanted to scream and kick, throw a whole temper tantrum. But she was 16 now, that was unexceptable. She checked the clock that hung above her bed, _5:23 A.M._

"Anne? Are you alright?" a tired voice asked from their bed. She heard the shuffling of bed sheets and a soft Lumos, a bright light erupting from the culprits wand. Ginny Weasley was standing a few steps away from her, wand in hand. "Oh, Anne," she said sympathetically before crouching down next to her, allowing Anne to rest her head on her shoulder. 

"I'm sorry for waking you, nightmares," she said sniffling. Anne hated being the center of attention and being pitied, but it was times like these when she needed the extra support. 

"Don't worry. We all miss him you know. He was a amazing person. Extremely attractive," Ginny added, giving Anne a wink. 

Anne giggled before saying, "I'm such a awful person. Harry watched him die, probably still lives thinking it was his fault. He died three years ago, he would have wanted me to move on. But I can't," she said, rubbing her nose. After Cedric died, she never spoke to Harry. Didn't even glance at him, everytime she did she thought of Cedric, the look on Harry's face when he arrived back with him. Anne knew Cedric would have wanted them to talk, but she couldn't do it. 

"Don't you dare say that!" Ginny said, slapping her arm playfully. "You're amazing. Just mourning. Seeing your dead brother Anne, I'm sure that's something you'll never truly get over. But it''s gotten better hasn't it? Your last nightmare was a month ago! That's progress," Ginny said, putting her head on top of Annes'.

Ginny Weasley was Anne's best friend. After Cedric died, she shut a lot of people out. She tried to keep away from Ginny, but the redhead kept trying to win her over, and eventually did. Anne didn't understand how Ginny dealt with her, but somehow she managed. She felt bad for Ginny, especially right now, she couldn't imagine what it was like to constantly live in fear that her brother and lover would die, as well as her sister. Ginny patted her arm before standing up. 

"Alright, take a hot shower, they always make me feel better. Then we can go and get breakfast, meet up with Neville and Luna. I feel bad for Neville, he's been getting hurt a lot recently by the Carrows'. Awful human beings they are," she mumbled while walking away. 

Hogwarts had fallen apart. There was no point denying it now since the war was getting bad. Ever since Dumbledore had died, everything went downhill. Snape became the headmaster, and he's a known Death Eater. The Carrows' had invaded the school, now teaching DADA and Muggle studies. Death Eaters filled the school, while dementors surrounded it. Punishments were bad, if the Weasley twins were there they would have most likely been dead. After Anne got out of the shower, she put on her Gryffindor robes only to find a small note in the pockets. 

_Don't go to classes, come down to the Room of Requirements, it will let you in, promise. It's started. The Battle of Hogwarts. **-Ginny W.**_

... 

"Look! It's Neville! And he's brought back Harry, Ron, and Hermione!" a voice rang out, forcing Anne's attention to snap away from the flickering flames in the fire. 

She watched as people surrounded the trio, obviously looking for answers about the war, but also about them and how they were doing. Anne let herself examine the Room of Requirement, just then noticing how messy it was. Mattresses and hammocks hung from the ceilings and crowded the floor, and every now and then you would come across a dark red stain on the floor, most likely blood from the torturing the kids received. The occasional food wrapper could be found, making her grimace. There was no doubting it, Anne was starving. She was a sickly pale color, a green hue starting to form as well. She hadn't eaten in days, no matter how hard Neville or another member of the Army tried to feed her. There also was a swarm of different house colors everywhere, excluding Slytherin. The rest of Dumbledore's Army were cheering loudly, it was until Harry said something when the quieted down. 

She noticed Dean and Luna, Neville must have sent for them when Harry arrived. Anne tried to keep up with the chatter, Dumbledore's sent us on a mission, we have to find something, no, Harry, we want to fight too. 

It was the sentence, "So your just going to leave us in this mess?" said by an angry Michael Corner that made her focus more on what they were saying. 

"No way are you leaving us here, Harry Potter," she growled, standing up from the armchair. All eyes were on her, she could feel it. "I don't care if you're the Chosen One, I don't care if Dumbledore sent you on a mission and that you can't tell us. That's- that's stupid! You know why? People have lost family for this, I have at least, so I'm not going to sit here and let you say nothing. Dumbledore is dead, you do realize that? You need all the help you can get, that's what Dumbledore's Army is all about," she spat, tears streaming from her eyes. 

There was a quick moment of silence before Ginny, George, Fred, and Lee Jordan climbed in through the hole in the wall, followed closely by a Cho Chang. Cho locked eyes with Anne before holding up her fake Galleon. Ginny gave Harry a smile before giving him a big hug. She watched Harry smile into her shoulder, Ron and Hermione must have caught it too, for they gave each other a small smirk. He let go of Ginny, staring into Anne's eyes. She glared back at him, before Harry gave her a small nod. 

"Now Harry, as much as I dislike you right now, I do have to apologize. For being so disgustingly rude over the past 3 years, I'm so sorry. Cedric wouldn't have wanted that, and what you did was insanely brave, bringing him back. So thank you," she said, giving him a teary eyed smile. He returned it and was about to say something when she interrupted. "Just because I got all soft on you, Potter, doesn't mean I'm still mad at you." 

More people started to ask about Harry's plan, making the boy visibly overwhelmed. He quickly discussed something with Ron and Hermione, before clearing his voice and saying, "Okay!"

Anne zoned out again, feeling awfully dizzy. The war, it was real. They were going to have to fight. Possibly die. But really if she died in the war, positive outcomes would still come out. She would die a hero, and finally see Cedric again. If she died, she could live a happy life with Cedric, they could have a little cottage and tons of animals. Cedric could get a wife, they would make hot cocoa and pancakes every morning, even while she was in her 20's, still treating her like a baby. 

She would do anything for life to be like that. 

Which meant, she had to fight. _  
_


	2. t h e  b a t t l e  o f  h o g w a r t s

"Stupefy!" Anne yelled, quickly stunning a Death Eater who was attacking a second year Slytherin. Yaxley, she noted. She turned to the second year before saying, "Run, he won't stay out for long. The second year nodded and started running away.

The boy stopped and quickly said to Anne, "Thank you for not telling me off, Slytherins are supposed to be in the dungeons," he said, making Anne frown. "Stereotypes against us, but I would rather die for Hogwarts than stand around helpless," and with that, he ran off.

Anne's heart ached. For the first time in days, she had eaten. It wasn't much, but it felt amazing. She felt bad for the Slytherin's, maybe not the ones who were Death Eaters, but for young ones who simply wanted to help Hogwarts, save their second home. For some, it was considered their only home. That's what it was like for her.

"Bombarda Maxima!" a very high pitched, very annoying voice screeched behind her. The spell nearly hit her, causing the wall behind her to explode, sending rocks and rubble everywhere. Anne was hurt, there was no doubting it. There was a searing pain in her left arm that made her let out a soft groan, her mind slowly starting to grow fuzzy. "Aww, is little Diggory hurt? Trust me girly, this won't hurt one bit! Just going to send you over to see your brother!" the voice yelled, giggles erupting out of her mouth.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," she mumbled, eyes wide out of fear.

"None other than! Now, goodbye!" she screamed. "Avada Kedavra!"

Though most would, in the time being wounded, zone out, mind becoming blank. The opposite happened to Anne, the curse being sent snapped her out of her daze, making her roll away quickly. Bellatrix sent her a death glare, followed by a terrifying smile, something that would have made people freeze in fear.

"Oh, so you want to play that way? Crucio!" she shouted, laughing like a maniac. Before she could react in anyway, a shooting pain filled her body, almost like knives stabbing her at every angle. She let out a blood-curdling scream, filling the Great Hall. She felt as if she was now being set on fire, laying on a bed of nails. Death almost seemed like a reward at this point, the pain was unbearable.

"Everte Statum!" a unrecognizable voice shouted across the room, sending Bellatrix into a wall and knocking her out. Anne took a breath before standing up, looking around for who sent the spell, only to see everyone in their own battles; none paying attention. She gave a loud moan, the pain in her arm and now hip starting to hurt again.

She rushed away from the Great Hall, doing her best to avoid any pieces of brick flying towards her; and curses that would kill her or do severe damage. When she made it to the Room of Requirement, tears were running down her face, mixing with the blood trickling down her face from a large gash she had gotten along the way. She tasted salt and metal, a disgusting mixture. Anne paced back and forth, trying to get it. Every step sent a shooting pain through her hip, she must have dislocated it.

Anne took a seat by the passageway that almost always let her in. "Please- _please_ let me in. I'm wounded- I need help!" she cried, holding her arm. "Please!" she yelled.

The pain only got worse. It had been roughly ten minutes and Anne still was unsuccessful at getting inside. She cried harder, small hiccups coming from her throat that was unbelievably dry. 

"Anne?" said a soft and airy voice, coming a little ways away. Anne turned her head a little bit, enough to send a spark of pain through her head, but bearable. None other than Luna Lovegood was standing a few feet away from her, covered in dirt and small amounts of blood. "Oh, your hurt. Badly. Why haven't you gone inside?" she asked crouching down by the weak girl.

"I can't," she started, soon interrupted by a hiccup. "I can't- can't get inside. It won't let me," she cried.

"Oh, here let's get you in. I'll gladly help," Luna saud, dragging Anne up. Anne let out a small scream at the contact, but tried her hardest to help herself. "Shh, lean on me, it will be easier," Luna said in a calm voice that somehow soothed her; even at a time like this.

Luna hoisted Anne into the passageway that had opened for her, much to Anne's shock. "You have to think; I'm fighting for Hogwarts. I'm fighting on the good side, I'm fighting for good. I think due to your injury you didn't think very clearly and I can't blame you," Luna said softly, before coming to a halt and letting her eyes visibly droop.

It was worse than drowning. Worse than the torture she had been through. Anne felt as if someone had forced hot lava into her lungs; suffocating her. The burning moved up from her lungs to her throat, making her gag. Luckily, them being in the Room of Requirement, a toilet appeared for her to throw up in, the food she had eaten earlier leaving her body. Luna held her hair up and rubbed circles on her back trying to comfort her, while Anne was trying to get rid of the lava. After the lava sensation was gone, she looked up to Luna's big blue eyes, staring at her worriedly.

"I had a feeling it was going to be hard for you, coming in here, but your very badly injured, Anne. I couldn't leave you there. Now come on, you can grieve after your healed up. They won't be going anywhere," Luna said, absentmindedly. She quickly covered her mouth in shock at what she had just said, really thinking it through. "Oh my goodness Anne I'm so sorry, I-"

"Luna, it's okay. If I didn't feel like absolute shit right now because I just puked my guts out, I probably would have laughed, all honesties, that was very funny," Anne said, forcing a smile. Dark humor was definetely something she was going to have to get used to over the course of these next few years, it might be the only thing to make them laugh. Funny jokes would remind them of him.

Fred Weasley was dead, lying on a cot in the front of the room. Luckily, there was no blood found, something that probably made Anne sick to her stomach, knowing he died in pain. Fred and George were Anne's friends, or she hoped. After Cedric died, she had no-one to care for her. Her parents were mourning the loss of their beautiful baby boy, Anne mourning the loss of her best friend. Fred and George brought back the joy of laughter in her life, something she would be forever grateful for.

"Here, come on Anne, Ginny's over there, we'll get you cleaned up," Luna said quietly, pulling Anne up slowly so the pain was little. "Ginny!" Luna shouted, gesturing for her to come over.

Anne watched Ginny's nonchalant face slowly tun towards Luna, her head resting on her mother's shoulder. She could see the dried tear stains on her cheeks, there tracks glistening in the dim light of the Room of Requirement. Ginny's eyes trailed down to Anne, and she quickly got up, whispering something to Mrs. Weasley. Ginny ran over to the two, quickly examining Anne and wiping the dried tears.

"Anne, you've gotten yourself all fucked up," Ginny mumbled, slowly tracing the cuts.

"Language, Ginerva," Anne said quietly.

"Like you don't say it, and you're the same age as me!" Ginny said, a small smile creeping up.

"I would say, it's because I've lost a brother, but seems you have too. Twinning!" Anne laughed. Her eyes widened at what she just said, Luna was truly having an effect on her. "Oh my god Gin, I'm so sorry-"

She was cut off by a small giggle, something that gave Anne a large grin. Ginny was laughing. "You are so so so stupid, but it's fucking hilarious," Ginny said, soft laughter emerging between words. "Now, we better get you cleaned up or you're going to die of blood loss. Alright, Luna, can you please grab some bandages while I heal? I can fix bones, not the cuts. Sorry, Anne," Ginny ordered, her tone softening as she heard Anne let out a small whimper.

Luna nodded before venturing off, disappearing through the crowd of people.

"God, Anne, I don't know, I think Freddie would have really liked that joke, even if it wasn't meant to be one," Ginny said, shaking her head. "Now, this might hurt, but trust me, it will be over in a minute. Your arms broken, hip dislocated. What the fuck were you doing? Gymnastics?" she sighed.

"Actually, fighting off Bellatrix Lestrange. Cruciatus Curse really works wonders ya know?" Anne said. "But someone got her off me, don't know who."

"Ugh," Ginny said, lowering her wand from Anne's broken arm. "Isn't that like, the perfect love story? He or she saves you, then you find your way together and get married and shit? Sounds perfect," she continued, bring her wand back up. "Episkey!"

Anne let out a small scream, the spell catching her off-guard. All the pain quickly subsided, leaving her with a small smile.

"Hip though, might hurt a little bit more," Ginny said, a small hint of worry plastered on her face. "Ready?" Anne gave a small nod. "Episkey!" she repeated.

This time, instead of the small but surprising pain the soared through her arm, Anne felt her hip slowly moving back into its place. It was unbearably slow, making her wince and let out a low groan. Somehow, it didn't hurt badly, just felt very uncomfortable. Was worse than her arm, but not terrible. 

"Motherfucker," Anne growled, holding the still moving hip. As she felt it go back into its proper place, she let out a loud sigh.

"Hurt that bad, huh?" Ginny said, a small smirk on her face.

"No, but yes. Very complicated type of pain. Now, I really hope you don't mind but-" Anne's eyes traveled to the direction where Fred was laying, lifeless. Ginny gave her a small nod and grabbed her hand, leading her over.

The two girls, hand in hand, walked over to Fred and sat next to George, who had his hands covering his face. Ginny sat next to him and draped her arms over his shoulders, allowing him to lean into her. Anne sat by the two siblings, and thought. She thought about the stupid war and how Ginny now was going to have to feel the pain of losing a brother and seeing him dead, but somehow, seeing Fred now made her feel better. Anne didn't know what would have happened to her if she didn't see Cedric, she wondered if Ginny felt the same way. 

"He would have been happy though. He would have been happy that we were all here, and as cheesy as it sounds, he wouldn't have wanted us to take time over him. For all I know, he would have wanted us to laugh over his death. But I can't. I can't live life without him, my other half. Half of me wants to stay with him, Fred I mean, the other half wants to fight. I'm assuming that, well, the side telling me to fight is what Fred would have wanted. Me to stop being such a baby and get on with it," George Weasley said, breaking the silence. 

Ginny let a large sigh admit from her throat, rubbing his arm slightly. "But he also would have wanted you to be okay with his death, grow accustomed with it. It's going to be hard. It's going to be hard for all of us," Ginny said, a lace of sadness traveling through her words. 

George gave a small nod, wiping the tears and some dirt off his face before running off towards his mother, embracing her in a big hug. Anne gave a small smile at the sight, she wished her mother would have let her do that when Cedric died, just for a small hint that in the end, everything was going to be okay. 

"Anne, may I ask you something?" Ginny said, her voice hoarse.

"Of course, anything," Anne replied, looking back at the red-head. 

"Well, uhm, if you don't mind me asking, what was it like when Cedric died?"

Anne felt her throat go dry, the words not being able to come out of her throat. her eyes watered a bit as she looked back down on Fred, the ghost of his last laugh visible on his pale face. _Cedric was awfully pale when he arrived as well_ , she thought. 

"I need to go somewhere else, I can't explain what it was like when my brother died sitting over yours," Anne said, standing up.

Ginny gave her a small frown before following her hesitantly over to where two armchairs had appeared, a small table in the middle.

"It was awful," Anne said softly, looking at Ginny. "It truly felt worse than anything. I wanted to die. I'm not even going to lie. I wanted to just, kill myself. I didn't care if it hurt too much, maybe that would have distracted me. Pitch myself off the Astronomy Tower. But for some reason, every time I got close to, a voice said, "Don't you dare." After awhile, I thought it might be Cedric. I didn't have anybody. I felt so, so angry, all the damn time. So fucking angry. The Ministry was constantly bombarding my family and I with questions, questions we couldn't even fucking answer because Potter was never ready to share details. And when he did, well, do you really think my favorite pastime was talking about of my dead brother, crying over to the Ministry? It sucked. It sucked so hard. Then, my family wasn't even there to comfort me. They shut me out, never talking to me. That's why I've always envied the relationship you have with your family, it was something I could never have," she concluded, leaving her and Ginny in tears.

"Just please know Gin, I know this is going to be hard. I know. I've been through it. But know I'm always going to be here, okay? I'm not giving up on you or myself, got the scars to prove it. I might have wanted to, but there's always something that's going to stop you. And guess what?", Anne said, wiping Ginny's eyes.

"What?" Ginny choked out.

"I'll always be the one to stop you."


End file.
